Computer Ntetwork Assignment A134639
Introduction A computer network is called as a network is a group of computer and devices interconnected by communications channels that facilitate communications among users and allows users to share resources . A computer network allows sharing of resources and information among interconnected devices . Computer network is sometimes considered a sub-discipline of telecommunications, computer science, information technology and/or computer engineering since it relies heavily upon the theoretical and practical application of these scientific and engineering disciplines . Background Computer networks have grown dramatically in complexity, geographical range and ubiquity over the last few years . Before the advent of computer networks that were based upon some type of telecommunications system, communication between calculation machines and early computers was performed by human users by carrying instructions between them. Many of the social behaviors seen in today's Internet were demonstrably present in the nineteenth century and arguably in even earlier networks using visual signals. In September 1940 George Stibitz used a teletype machine to send instructions for a problem set from his Model at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire to his Complex Number Calculator in New York and received results back by the same means. Linking output systems like teletypes to computers was an interest at the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) when, in 1962, J.C.R. Licklider was hired and developed a working group he called the "Intergalactic Network"Bold text, a precursor to the ARPANet. In 1964, researchers at Dartmouth developed the Dartmouth Time Sharing System for distributed users of large computer systems. The same year, at MIT, a research group supported by General Electric and Bell Labs used a computer DEC's to route and manage telephone connections. Throughout the 1960s Leonard Kleinrock, Paul Baran and Donald Davies independently conceptualized and developed network systems which used datagrams or packets that could be used in a network between computer systems. 1965 Thomas Merrill and Lawrence G. Roberts created the first wide area network (WAN). The first widely used PSTN switch that used true computer control was the Western Electric introduced in 1965. In 1969 the University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford), University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah were connected as the beginning of the ARPANET network using 50 kbit/s circuits. Commercial services using X.25 were deployed in 1972, and later used as an underlying infrastructure for expanding TCP/IP networks. Computer networks, and the technologies needed to connect and communicate through and between them, continue to drive computer hardware, software, and peripherals industries. This expansion is mirrored by growth in the numbers and types of users of networks from the researcher to the home user. Today, computer networks are the core of modern communication. All modern aspects of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) are computer-controlled, and telephony increasingly runs over the Internet Protocol, although not necessarily the public Internet. The scope of communication has increased significantly in the past decade, and this boom in communications would not have been possible without the progressively advancing computer network. Benefits Most of the benefits of networking can be divided into two generic categories: connectivity and sharing. Networks allow computers, and hence their users, to be connected together. They also allow for the easy sharing of information and resources, and cooperation between the devices in other ways. Here, in no particular order, are some of the benefits generally associated with networking . 'Hardware Sharing' Networks facilitate the sharing of hardware devices. For example, instead of giving each of 10 employees in a department an expensive color printer (or resorting to the “sneakernet” again), one printer can be placed on the network for everyone to share. 'Internet Access Sharing' Small computer networks allow multiple users to share a single Internet connection. Special hardware devices allow the bandwidth of the connection to be easily allocated to various individuals as they need it, and permit an organization to purchase one high-speed connection instead of many slower ones. 'Performance Enhancement and Balancing' Under some circumstances, a network can be used to enhance the overall performance of some applications by distributing the computation tasks to various computers on the network. 'Networking has promoted gaming' Many internet games like WOW accounts are being played by players all over the world using common servers. These give fun and enjoyment to people and also improve their skills. Increased Storage Capacity As there is more than one computer on a network which can easily share files, the issue of storage capacity gets resolved to a great extent. A standalone computer might fall short of storage memory, but when many computers are on a network, memory of different computers can be used in such case. One can also design a storage server on the network in order to have a huge storage capacity. 'Eases out management of data' Networking provides the advantage of centralization of data from all the user systems to one system where it can be managed in an easy and better way. Administrators can thus manage all this data efficiently and in the best interest of the company. Even the access of this data becomes easy for the users. 'Security' Specific directories can be password protected to limit access to authorized users. Also, files and programs on a network can be designated as "copy inhibit" so you don’t have to worry about the illegal copying of programs. Increased Cost Efficiency There are many softwares available in the market which are costly and take time for installation. Computer networks resolve this issue as the software can be stored or installed on a system or a server and can be used by the different workstations . Increased Storage Capacity As there is more than one computer on a network which can easily share files, the issue of storage capacity gets resolved to a great extent. A standalone computer might fall short of storage memory, but when many computers are on a network, memory of different computers can be used in such case. One can also design a storage server on the network in order to have a huge storage capacity. What is network classification The following list presents categories used for classifying networks. Connection method Computer networks can be classified according to the hardware and software technology that is used to interconnect the individual devices in the network . Ethernet uses physical wiring to connect devices. Frequently deployed devices include hubs, switches, bridges, or routers. Wireless LAN technology is designed to connect devices without wiring. These devices use radio waves or infrared signals as a transmission medium. Wired technologies *Twisted pair wire is the most widely used medium for telecommunication. Twisted-pair wires are ordinary telephone wires which consist of two insulated copper wires twisted into pairs and are used for both voice and data transmission. The use of two wires twisted together helps to reduce crosstalk and electronicmagnetic induction . The transmission speed ranges from 2 million bits per second to 100 million bits per second. *Optical fiber cable consists of one or more filaments of glass fiber wrapped in protective layers. It transmits light which can travel over extended distances. Fiber-optic cables are not affected by electromagnetic radiation. The transmission speed of fiber optics is hundreds of times faster than for coaxial cables and thousands of times faster than a twisted-pair wire. Wireless technologies *Terrestial microwave – Terrestrial microwaves use Earth-based transmitter and receiver. The equipment look similar to satellite dishes. Terrestrial microwaves use low-gigahertz range, which limits all communications to line-of-sight. Microwave antennas are usually placed on top of buildings, towers, hills, and mountain peaks. *Communications satellites'' ''– The satellites use microwave radio as their telecommunications medium which are not deflected by the Earth's atmosphere. The satellites are stationed in space, typically 22,000 miles above the equator. These Earth-orbiting systems are capable of receiving and relaying voice, data, and TV signals. *Wireless LANs – Wireless local area network use a high-frequency radio technology similar to digital cellular and a low-frequency radio technology. Wireless LANs use spread spectrum technology to enable communication between multiple devices in a limited area. *Infrared communication , which can transmit signals between devices within small distances not more than 10 meters peer to peer or ( face to face ) without any body in the line of transmitting. Scale Networks are often classified as wide area network (WAN) , local area network (LAN) , storage area network (SAN) , campus area network (CAN) , metropolitan area network (MAN) , personal area network (PAN ) , virtual private network (VPN) and others . For example , controller area network (CAN) usage, trust level, and access right often differ between these types of networks. LANs tend to be designed for internal use by an organization's internal systems and employees in individual physical locations while WANs may connect physically separate parts of an organization and may include connections to third parties. Functional relationship Computer networks may be classified according to the functional relationships which exist among the elements of the network . For example , client-server ,peer-to-peer architecture and active networking . Network topology Network topology is the coordination by which devices in the network are arranged in their logical relations to one another, independent of physical arrangement. Even if networked computers are physically placed in a linear arrangement and are connected to a hub, the network has a star topology, rather than a bus topology. In this regard the visual and operational characteristics of a network are distinct. Two types of network based on physical scope Wide area network A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a large geographic area such as a city, country, or spans even intercontinental distances, using a communications channel that combines many types of media such as telephone lines, cables, and air waves. A WAN often uses transmission facilities provided by common carriers, such as telephone companies. Campus network A campus network is a computer network made up of an interconnection of local area networks (LAN's) within a limited geographical area. The networking equipments and transmission media are almost entirely owned by the campus owner . In the case of a university campus-based campus network, the network is likely to link a variety of campus buildings including; academic departments, the university library and student residence halls. Metropolitan area network A Metropolitan area network is a large computer network that usually spans a city or a large campus . Virtual private network A virtual priavate network (VPN) is a computer network in which some of the links between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in s ome larger network instead of by physical wires. The data link layer protocols of the virtual network are said to be tunneled through the larger network when this is the case. One common application is secure communications through the public Internet, but a VPN need not have explicit security features , such as authentication or content encryption . VPNs can also be used to separate the traffic of different user communities over an underlying network with strong security features . A VPN may have best-effort performance, or may have a defined service level agreement (SLA) between the VPN customer and the VPN service provider. Generally, a VPN has a topology more complex than point-to-point. Basic hardware components All networks are made up of basic hardware building blocks to interconnect network nodes . Network interface cards A network card , network adapter, or NIC (network interface card) is a piece of computer hardware designed to allow computers to communicate over a computer network. It provides physical access to a networking medium and often provides a low-level addressing system through the use of MAC addresses . Repeaters A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal , cleans it of unnecessary noise, regenerates it, and retransmits it at a higher power level, or to the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. In most twisted pair Ethernet configurations, repeaters are required for cable that runs longer than 100 meters. Hubs A network hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied unmodified to all ports of the hub for transmission. The destination address in the frame is not changed to a broadcast address. Bridges A network bridge connects multiple network segments at the data link layer of the OSI model . Bridges broadcast to all ports except the port on which the broadcast was received. However, bridges do not promiscuously copy traffic to all ports, as hubs do, but learn which MAC addresses are reachable through specific ports. Once the bridge associates a port and an address, it will send traffic for that address to that port only . Bridges learn the association of ports and addresses by examining the source address of frames that it sees on various ports. Once a frame arrives through a port, its source address is stored and the bridge assumes that MAC address is associated with that port. The first time that a previously unknown destination address is seen, the bridge will forward the frame to all ports other than the one on which the frame arrived . Bridges come in three basic types: *Local bridges: Directly connect local area networks (LANs) *Remote bridges: Can be used to create a wide area network (WAN) link between LANs. Remote bridges, where the connecting link is slower than the end networks, largely have been replaced with routers. *Wireless bridges: Can be used to join LANs or connect remote stations to LANs. Switches A network switch is a device that forwards and filters OSI layer 2 datagrams (chunk of data communication) between ports (connected cables) based on the MAC addresses in the packets . A switch is distinct from a hub in that it only forwards the frames to the ports involved in the communication rather than all ports connected. A switch breaks the collision domain but represents itself as a broadcast domain. Switches make forwarding decisions of frames on the basis of MAC addresses. A switch normally has numerous ports, facilitating a star topology for devices, and cascading additional switches . Some switches are capable of routing based on Layer 3 addressing or additional logical levels; these are called multi-layer switches. Routers A router is an internetworking device that forwards packets between networks by processing information found in the datagram or packet . In many situations, this information is processed in conjunction with the routing table (also known as forwarding table) . Routers use routing tables to determine what interface to forward packets (this can include the "null" also known as the "black hole" interface because data can go into it, however, no further processing is done for said data) . Conclusion We can conclude that computer networks makes our life easier to communicate with each other and the world using the computer . It also allows sharing of resources and information among interconnected devices . References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-computer-network/ http://www.buzzle.com/articles/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-computer-networks.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_topology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network#Types_of_networks_based_on_physical_scope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_network#Basic_hardware_components